February is usually celebrated with ‘love moods’ in the air. Everyone especially lovers seemed to ‘paint’ color red to everything they see. Valentine’s Day celebration is given a boost by industries with better meaning than ‘emotional’ love. Each year, February is given a strategic action plan on issues related to maintaining a healthy lifestyle through exercise and good nutrition.
Heart month media awareness programs and fund raising projects are done to help raise funds to support projects that would prevent the disease. It also provides emotional support to those who are currently recovering from heart related ailments and stroke.
Good nutrition plays a vital role in keeping the heart healthy. Though researchers found out that heart disease is genetically link, there are ways and means to prevent the onset of the disease. Awareness alone of what to do is not effective if it is not put into practice.
Here are some general guidelines to prevent the onset of health related diseases:
1. When you learned that you’re genetically prone to heart related ailments, take time to check with your family doctor regularly. How would you know if it is genetics? Simply review your family’s health history.
Exercise. If you have no time to spend at least 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes in the gym, walk. To start with, walk for 30 minutes three times a week and gradually increase to an hour. Then, challenge yourself to walk uphill, if possible. Then, walk faster (walkaton) than usual, stretching your arms with tucked abdomen and hips.
Watch out for the food that you eat! Avoid processed foods like sausages, hams, internal organs (liver, kidney, sweetbread, spleen, intestines, brain) canned products. Focus on foods of plant origin like vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and seeds. Protein foods like fish and legumes are good choices.
Avoid high level of cholesterol that triggers heart disease. We need good cholesterol level to help the body produce hormones, bile acid and vitamin
D. It also moves through the bloodstream to be used by all parts of the body.
Remember, level of fat in foods is not a good measure of cholesterol. There are foods that are low in fat but high in cholesterol like liver and internal organs.
Avoid stress. It contributes to the imbalance secretions of hormones in the body. Find time to relax or laugh. Experts claimed that laughter is the best medicine. Laughing increases blood flow and circulation, helping to decrease the risk of cardiovascular problems. Second, laughing allows the stomach, legs, arms and face muscles to work. A good round of laughter is a great aerobic workout! Laughing improves your resistance to disease by decreasing stress hormones and increasing immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies.
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Thinking of some hot place to go for the rest of the remaining weeks in winter? Find time to relax for a short drive to Harrison Hot Spring. Just an hour drive from Tri-City, you can relax by strolling along the lake and a cool 2-3 hours dip or swim in a warm water at the pool. Then discover the personalized service 
of the owner of Harrison Hot Spring Pizza and treat yourself with mouth-watering pizza, Spicy and Honey Barbecue Chicken Wings at Harrison Hot Spring Pizza located across the Community Center. You don’t need to stay overnight and spend a hefty dollars for accommodation. A day trip is enough to release stress and stay relax.
GREEK PIZZA
HARRISON HOT SPRING PIZZA: The best crispy crust with good choices of topping from meaty to vegetarian.
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Incidentally, Couples for Christ in British Columbia will be celebrating its 16th anniversary with a thanksgiving mass on Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 5:00 pm at St. Francis de Sales, Balmoral Road. A dinner and dance event will follow at National Nikkei Heritage Center at 6699 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby. Happy 16th Anniversary to CFC! May your tribe increase!
Gawad Kalinga Walk (GK Walk) is one of the yearly successful fund raising projects of CFC. Shown in photo: (l-r) Lita Tapia, PCTC; Cheng Estoque, CFC TriCity Head, Music Ministry; Amy Atienza-Sundberg, Community Relations Officer, Conservative Party ; Nick Borja , CFC National Director Canada; Prim Javier, GK Chair
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Get a copy of Living Today Magazine, January Issue featuring 2010 Winter Olympics restaurant featuring Chef James Walt of Araxi Restaurant and Cookbook winning recipes! Watch out for Tita Lhu’s Special Treat in cyberspace! For comments and suggestions you can email
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